Kansas Supreme Court rules state constitution protects abortion rights

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled late last week that the right to an abortion is protected under the state’s constitution, blocking a 2015 state law that would have banned a common second-trimester procedure. The state has had a contentious history regarding abortion: Physician George Tiller, who had faced threats for performing the procedure, was killed in 2009 by an abortion opponent who had previously targeted him. With Friday’s landmark decision, Kansas joins at least nine other states whose high courts have ruled in favor of abortion rights activists. Antiabortion activists in Kansas have already vowed to organize to amend the state’s constitution.